


Miles Away

by knopewyatt



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 23:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4806593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knopewyatt/pseuds/knopewyatt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben is in DC when Leslie finds out she's pregnant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miles Away

She'd been in Pawnee for 2 hours before she emptied her stomach in her downstairs toilet, she figured it was the calzone he made her eat before her flight, but its not until that night - after being sick twice more that she began to question her assumption.

* * *

 

Ben's bed feels empty without her.

Its 4am when his arm goes to find her waist, disappointed only to feel his mattress. It's cold and hard and doesn't smell like vanilla and whipped cream. He wondered if she was awake, wondered whether she was scrawling ideas in her binder or working on the cross stitch for Ann's birthday.

* * *

 

She is awake. She’s crying. She's sat on her bathroom floor debating whether to call Ann or not.

She does.

"Leslie its 4am what do you want?" she doesn't mean to snap at her best friend but surely it can wait at least 3 more hours.

She hears Leslie sniffle and let out a shaky breath and she immediately regrets her tone.

"Leslie whats wrong? Are you okay? Do you need me to come over?"

Ann doesn't wait for her to answer before she pulls on her sweatpants and gets in her car.

It’s 10 minutes later when she finds her best friend slouched on the tile floor, her face is blotchy and her eyes are red.

"Leslie?" she says gently, sitting down next to her.

Leslie doesn't say anything, but her head rests on Ann's shoulder and their hands find each other. She stops crying and wipes her eyes with her free hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ann asks her, hoping she'll at least want to move off her floor.

"Can we get in bed?"

"Sure, come on" Ann takes her hand, guiding her to her side of the bed and tucks her in before getting in herself.

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, but it doesn't stop Ann desperately wanting to find out what's keeping her awake and making her cry at 4:30am.

Leslie's head is spinning, the thousands of thoughts traveling through her mind makes her eyes hurt.

"I'm pregnant" she finally confesses, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Leslie that's great news!" Ann tells her, before actually thinking about how she must feel, "right?"

"Yeah, of course, its just... I" her eyes focus on the bedding she and Ben bought together when they started dating again, she suddenly remembers him and its all too much.

She throws the covers off her and stands up; the air is too close, her clothes are smothering her, she can't breath... oh God she can't breath.

"Ann" she tries, although it comes out as more of a sigh than a name.

She's crying again when Ann sits her on the bed, her hands are on Leslie's shoulders as she breaths with her, counting in and out as her heart rate reduces.

"Listen I'm gonna make you some tea and we're gonna sit down and talk about this okay, you're okay, there's nothing to worry about, I'm here as long as you need okay, Les?"

"You're such a beautiful amazing nurse"

While Ann is gone Leslie takes a moment to compose herself, she asks herself why she's so scared, and when she comes up empty, she reminds herself of who she is, what she does. She's Leslie fucking Knope.

She can do this.

Ann hands her her tea, and sits back down beside her, "you ready?"

"I don't know why I freaked out so much. I guess I'm just scared I'm going to start steamrolling again and Ben's just got the job he wants and he's in DC and I'm here and now theres a baby and what if he doesn’t want it and what if he breaks up with me and leaves me for hot Rebecca who isn't pregnant and won’t get gross and fat" Her sentences merge into one, the worry evident in her tone as she catches her breath.

"Have you actually spoken to Ben about this?"

"...no" she admits, her eyes meet Ann's and she knows what's coming.

"You need to speak to him"

"But if he doesn't know then it can't go wrong"

"Leslie you can't hide his child from him! You need to call him and tell him to fly out here"

"But.." her retort mute as she sees the look on Ann's face. "Oh, Ann, I wish you weren't so smart and amazing"

"I know, you tell me everyday" she tells her, smiling. "You need to get some rest, we'll call Ben tomorrow okay"

* * *

 

He wakes up without her, his heart clenches. He breaths in the vague scent of her shampoo on his pillow, he wishes she were here beside him. Nothing beats waking up to her.

God, he loves her so much.

He gets up and makes coffee, pausing as he almost gets two mugs out of the cupboard.

The urge to drive to the airport and go back to Pawnee almost overtakes him, but he grounds himself and drinks his coffee.

Half of it is gone when his phone rings.

"Ben?"

"Ann?"

"Can you come to Pawnee?"

He doesn't have chance to reply before panic sets in, "Is Leslie okay? oh my god what's happened? Ann is she okay? Ann tell me what's happened" his voice is rising and he can hear his heart beating through his shirt but he can't help himself.

"Leslie is fine, I promise" she reassures him "she just needs to talk to you but everything is fine. Do you think you could get a flight out here anytime soon?"

"uh yeah sure, I can probably get one today, I'll have to call Jen but I'll be there as soon as I can"

* * *

 

Its late afternoon when Ann's phone chimes, signalling a text. It's Ben.

" _Driving from the airport, I'll be 20 minutes_ "

She replies a brief " _okay_ " and informs Leslie.

* * *

 

They're sat at her kitchen table, surrounded by birdhouses and political autobiographies when he opens her front door.

"Les?"

"In the kitchen, babe"

He walks in to see the two, a binder in Leslie's hands, a mug in Ann's.

His internal commentary tells him everything seems to be okay, she looks different though, but he can't pinpoint why.

"I'm gonna give you two a minute" Ann tells them "Shout me if you need anything Les"

Theres a momentary pause before he wraps his arms around her. She smells of waffles and the body wash he bought her. He kisses her temple and looks at her, her face is free from makeup and yesterday's curls are falling out but he swears she’s never looked more beautiful.

"I love you" he whispers in her hair "God I love you so much Les"

"I love you too Ben, more than anything" she pulls away and sits back at the table, gesturing for him to take the seat next to her.

It takes her 10 minutes to finally tell him, she struggled with how to start, they cuddled for a minute to calm her down, and after him assuring her she could tell him anything, she did.

"You're pregnant?" he asked her

"I'm pregnant"

"We're having a baby" he sounded nervous and unsure as he mulled over the news

"We're having a baby" she repeated, her stomach churned, awaiting his reaction.

Seconds passed but it felt like days. Her heart was beating so hard she was afraid he could hear it. She fidgeted with her hands as their eyes met.

Full of joy and love.

"Oh my God, we're having a baby!!" he beamed at her, pulling her into his arms. 

He kissed her, as much teeth as lips but bursting with pride and love and hope.

* * *

 

He didn't leave her side for close to 9 months.

Every night he pulled her body flush with his; his arms curled around her, holding the two most important people in his life as his fingers drew arbitrary patterns into the swell of her abdomen.

Days passed and he swore she got more gorgeous each time he saw her, her skin glowed, her figure was fuller, they fit together even better than before. He had never seen something so beautiful. Yet.

The day their daughter was born was, and will be the happiest in his life. The sight of Leslie lay with their tiny baby bundled in blankets was better than he'd ever could have imagined.

She was the perfect mix of Leslie's hair and his eyes, her smile and his nose.

She was so small but held so much promise.

Ben and Leslie understood most things. They were both accomplished in their fields, with promotions and prospects ahead. But the one thing they didn't understand was how it was possible to love someone as much as they did Eleanor.

She was perfect, Leslie was perfect, his life was finally perfect.


End file.
